Rail construction



Feb. 25, 1969 F, BURMANN ET AL 3,429,558

RAIL CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 16, 1967 Sheet of 2 INVENTORS FRED BURMANN &

JOHN EDIE ATTORNEY Feb. 25, 1969 F BU M N ET AL 3,429,558

RAIL CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 16, 1967 Sheet 2 of 2 INVENTORS FRED BURMANN 8.

JOHN EDIE ATTORNEY United States Patent Ofllce 3,429,558 Patented Feb. 25, 1969 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Constructions such as for heavy-duty railings in which intersecting members are provided with connecting means for assembling the same without the use of additional fittings or joints.

The present invention relates generally to the assembly of constructions for railings and, in particular, to an improved assembly and construction for heavy duty railings such as for boats and architectural uses.

Chrome-plated tubular stock material is quite conventional as railing because of its attractiveness, strength, durability and moreover because such material is easily adaptable to a variety of design and structural configurations. Conventionally, however, it has been necessary to join intersecting members with cumbersome T-joints and floor or deck flanges in order to insure strength and ruggedness at such intersections. T-joints, deck flanges and similar connecting members are, however, expensive and require a great deal of labor to install. Neither are they so attractive as to warrant such additional expense. Other known expedients for joining tubular stock, such as slotted, tongue and groove connections, while somewhat more attractive, have no appreciable advantage for use in heavy duty railings because each requires supplemental bolting, screwing or clamping which adds to cost of material and labor. Significantly, however, such expedients are generally appreciably weaker than T-joints and flanges and are, therefore, not suitable for use in heavy duty railings.

Summary and objects of the invention In brief, the present invention has as its main object the provision of new and improved means for more economically connecting intersecting pieces of stock material, preferably of tubular cross-section, although the invention contemplates and teaches the use of materials of other cross-section.

It is another important object of this invention to provide a new and improved means for connecting intersecting members of rail material in a strong, rugged joint suitable for heavy duty rail uses.

It is a specific object to provide new and improved means for connecting intersecting rail members which eliminate the use of supplemental joint members, clamp brackets, bolts, etc.

It is a specific object to provide new and improved means for connecting intersecting rail members in rigid, secure and durable structures.

It is yet another object to provide new and improved means for connecting stanchions and elongated rail members, into heavy duty railings.

It is yet another object to provide new and improved means for simply and without the use of tools or special skill connecting intersecting rail members.

Many other objects, advantages and features of the present invention reside in the construction and combination of parts involved in the embodiment of the invention and its practice, as will be appreciated from the following description which illustrates the present invention as applied to a boat rail. It will be understood that the use of this illustration is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention as it might be adapted for other uses and functions.

In the following description reference is made to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the bow section of a boat having mounted thereon a boat rail constructed accor-ding to this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view, part section, part side elevation, showing the connection between a rail and an upright stanchion;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to that of FIG. 2 showing the connection between a rail and an angularly disposed stanchion;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line 5-5 of FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 66 of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 1, there will be seen a generally V-shaped, curved and sloping bow rail 10, made of tubular stock material, extending fore to aft along the right and left sides of a boat 12. The rear ends 14 of the rail are fastened directly to the boat deck 16 and the remainder is supported, spaced from the deck by a plurality of stanchions 18 which are also fastened to the deck 16.

Each of the stanchions 18, as seen in FIGS. 2-5, is made of tubular stock material similar to that of rail 10 and are at their upper ends 20 squeezed or otherwise flattened to form a pair of closely abutting flat and uniplanar members 22 which are adapted to be inserted into a closed elongated slot 24 extending longitudinally in the rail 10. The lower end of the stanchion is provided with a foot 26 for fastening to the deck 16. The flattened end 20 is provided with an extreme outer edge 28 squared and generally normal to the longitudinal axis XX of the stanchion 18, a leading edge 30 perpendicular thereto and a trailing edge 32 cut so that at least a portion thereof is curved downwardly and away from the outer edge 28.

At the base of the leading edge 30, there is formed a transverse cut 34 having parallel walls extending into the flattened end 20 and having a height approximating the wall thickness of the tubular stock used for rail 10. The cut 34 terminates in a wall 36 only a short distance within the flattened end 20. A shoulder 38 is formed at the base of the trailing edge 32 by the adjacent deformed but not flattened section of the stanchion 18. The lower wall of the cut 34, the shoulder 38 and the extreme lower extent of the flattened end 20 lie upon the same line and form in effect a base line 40 adapted to abut the outer surface of the tubular rail 10.

The disposition of base line 40 depends upon the angle at which the stanchion 18 is to assume relative to the rail 10. As seen in FIG. 2, the stanchion 18 will assume a right angle to the rail 10 and therefore the base line 40 is normal to the longitudinal axis X-X of the stanchion 18. On the other hand, as seen in FIG. 4, the stanchion 18a is to be placed at an angle to that of rail 10a and, therefore, here the base 40a is at a similar angle to the longitudinal axis.

Because it is essential for good stability that at least some point on the outer edge 28 or on the trailing edge 32 abut the inner surface of the rail 10 directly opposite the slot 24, the extent of the flattened end 20 from the base line 40 is dependent upon the angle of the base line. That portion of the edges 28 or 32 which will so contact the inner surface of the rail 10 will, of course, first lie in a line 42 parallel to the base line 40 since the opposed walls of the tubular rail 10 are parallel. Secondly, the contacting line 42 will be spaced from the base line 40 a distance at least equal to the inner diameter of the rail plus the thickness of its wall since the base line lies on the outside surface of the rail 10. In FIG. 2, where the stanchion is perpendicular to the rail, the extreme outer edge 28 also constitutes the contacting line 42. However, in FIG. 4, where the stanchion 18a is at an angle to the rail 10a, a portion of the trailing edge 32a will comprise the contacting line 42a. In this instance, in order to create a contacting surface of substantial distance, the curved trailing edge is also squared, at least in part.

For boat rails each of the stanchions may therefore be slightly different so that they can be employed to create a complete rail which may be curved or sloped. On the other hand, in stair rails, the stanchions can be made exactly the same since the stairs and risers are fixed in dimension and angle of rise. The exact measurements, angles, etc., by which the upper end 20 of each stanchion 18 is fashioned can be easily calculated by anyone skilled in the art and it is not felt necessary to further elaborate or set forth computations therefor. Provided the principles of the present disclosure are followed, no difficulty is to be anticipated.

The flattened upper end 20 is further provided with means for securing the stanchion 18 in place within the closed slot 24 of the rail. To accomplish this, both planar members 22 of the upper end 20 are slit along a line 44 beginning at a point up from shoulder 38 a distance substantially equal to the thickness of the wall of the rail 10 and extending angularly some distance upward and toward the leading edge 30. The portion of the flattened upper end 20 now lying above the slit 44 is bent out of alignment with the remainder a distance at least equal to the combined thickness of its members 22, forming a substantially offset spring member 46.

As previously noted, the flattened end 20 of stanchion 18 is adapted to be inserted in slot 24 of the rail 10. The slot is dimensioned to accommodate the thickness of the flattened member 22 and is of a length less than the distance between the leading edge and the trailing edge 32 but not less than the distance across the base line 38 from the inner wall 36 of cut 34 to the trailing edge 32. In practice, it will be preferable to conform the closed slot 24 exactly to the dimensions of the upper end 20 along and transverse to the base 38 from wall 36 to the trailing edge 32.

In connecting the stanchion 18 to the rail 10 (see phantom outline of FIG. 2), the corner 48 of edges 28 and 30 is first inserted into the slot 24. The cut 34 is then positioned adjacent an end 50 of the slot 24 and pivoted in the direction shown by arrow A. Pivoting of the stanchion 18 in this manner forces the cut 34 to fully straddle the end 50 and forces the trailing edge 32 to cam along the opposite end 52 of the slot 24. Continued pivoting finally results in the flexing of the spring member 46 into realignment with the flattened members 22 so that it and the upper end 20 move up through the slot 24 until the entire end 20 above the base line 40 is inserted within the rail. At this point the spring member 46 snaps outwardly into offset position and its edge 54 contacts the inner surface of the tubular rail 10. It will be observed that the upper end 20 is securely locked between the contacting line 42 and the edge 54 of the spring member 46 which act in opposed force directions and between the opposed ends 50 and 52 of the slot 24 engaging both the inner edge 36 of cut 34 and the lower end of trailing edge 32.

It will be impossible to remove the stanchion 18 from the rail 10 once it is inserted as described without destruction of either rail or stanchion unless a tool is inserted into the rail to straighten the offset spring member 46 so that it can be realigned with the planar portions of end 20 to be withdrawn back down through the slot 24. Thus, the stanchion and rail are unusually securely interconnected in a rigid, durable and permanent construction. It

will be observed that no tools or special skills were employed in making the connection nor were any brackets, joints, screws or bolts necessary.

The bottom end or foot 26 of the stanchion is also formed in a novel manner to have increased strength and rigidity by first flattening the lower end, similarly as was the upper end 20 and then bending the enlarged foot 24 out of alignment with the longitudinal axis X-X of the stanchion. Because of the tubular structure of stanchion 18, the simultaneous flattening and bending distorts the portion of the stanchion adjacent the foot to provide a tapered, concave surface 56, terminating in a pair of angularly disposed ribs 58, on that side of the stanchion 18 opposite the direction in which the foot 24 was bent. The ribs 58 converge in an apex 66 and diverge to terminate in corners 62 coplanar with the foot 24. As noted in FIGS. 2 and 4, the corners 62 extend beyond the body of the foot 24 and beyond the central axis X of the stanchion 18. Thus, once the foot 24 is so formed and bent, the concave surface 56 and ribs 58 act to prevent the rebending or flexing of the foot 24 and provide an extension to foot 24 beyond the central axis which it normally otherwise would not have.

As will be observed from FIGS. 2 and 4, the angular disposition of foot 24 can be modified to conform to the angle the stanchion will take with respect to the deck 16. Again the measurements of such angles and their formation are well within the skill of the artisan and further elaboration is not believed necessary. No matter what the angle, however, by first flattening .and then bending, the concave surface and ribs will be formed. It will also be obvious that the rail ends 14 can be similarly constructed if desired. Holes 64 are provided in the foot 26 for the reception of suitable fasteners such as screws or bolts.

Although the above manner of forming the foot 24 provides an integral unitary stanchion and fastening means which gives an unusually strong connection with the deck, it will be appreciated that the novel and improved means for connecting stanchion and rail is not dependent upon its use. In fact, the novel stanchion and rail connection previously described may be used with other than the novel construction described, such as stanchion feet, deck flanges or other fastening means. Likewise, the novel foot construction may be employed with other suitable stanchion rail connecting means than that herein described.

It will thus be apparent that each of the objects and advantages enumerated in the initial portion of this specification, as well as those mentioned in the body of the description, have been met. It will also be apparent that various changes and modifications may be effected without departing from the principles of the present invention. Furthermore, many uses of the present invention may be made in constructing devices other than railings out of tubular members, for example, such things as racks, shelves, frames, etc., may employ the present invention. It is therefore not to be taken that the present invention is limited by the preceding illustrations, but is to be limited only to the scope of the foregoing claims.

We claim:

1. An assembly of intersecting substantially hollow members, one of said members being provided with a flattened end having a base defined adjacent the larger remainder of said member, a leading edge extending longitudinally of said member, an extreme outer edge transverse thereto, a trailing edge at least a portion of which is curved, terminating at said base inwardly of the remainder of said member so as to define a shoulder on said member, and an open cut formed at the base of said flattened end and extending to an inner edge inwardly from said leading edge, the second of said members having a closed slot formed longitudinally within the wall thereof, said slot having a length less than the distance between said leading edge and said trailing edge but not less than the distance between said inner edge of said open cut and said trailing edge, said flattened end being inserted within said slot by engaging said cut with one end of said closed slot and pivoting the members with respect to each other so that said shoulder is made to abut the outer surface of said other member, thereby connecting said intersecting members and resilient means on said flattened end to engage and secure the same in said second member.

2. The assembly according to claim 1 wherein at least a portion of the edge of said flattened end is spaced from the base thereof a distance sufiicient to contact the inner surface of the second substantiall hollow member and said flattened end is provided with said resilient means adapted to enter therewith through said slot to engage the inner surface of said second member adjacent the slot thereby providing opposing forces on the inner wall of said second member to interlock the first member therewith.

3. The assembly according to claim 1 wherein a portion of said flattened end is separated therefrom along a line spaced from the base a distance equal to the thickness of the wall of the other tubular member and extending from the trailing edge inwardly, said separated portion being offset from the plane of said flattened end to form said resilient means of which the lower edge is adapted to contact the inner surface of said wall upon insertion through the slot.

4. The assembly according to claim 3 wherein said separated portion is offset a distance at least equal to the combined thickness of the flattened end of the one membar.

5. A railing construction for a boat or the like comprising a substantially hollow rail member and a plurality of supporting tubular stanchions, having means for fastening the same to a floor member, said rail being provided with a plurality of close ended slots for receiving one of said stanchions, each of said stanchions being provided with a flattened end portion including resilient means insertable therewith through said slot to engage the inner surface of the rail in offset relationship to the plane of said flattened end portion to engage and secure said flattened end portion in said rail member, said flattened end portions each being further provided with a marginal edge substantially equal to the length of the close ended slot in which the same is received to engage and be in contact with the ends thereof.

6. The railing according to claim 5 wherein said resilient means comprises a portion separated in part from the flattened end and offset therefrom a distance at least equal to the thickness of said flattened end.

7. The railing according to claim 5 wherein the stanchion adjacent the flattened end portion forms a shoulder adapted to abut the outer surface of said rail upon insertion of said flattened end portion through the slot thereby clamping said stanchion between the resilient member and said shoulder.

8. The railing according to claim 6 wherein the flattened end portion is provided with a leading edge extending longitudinally of said stanchion, an extreme outer edge transverse thereto, a trailing edge at least a portion of which is curved terminating at the shoulder and an open cut formed adjacent said shoulder and extending to an inner edge inwardly from said leading edge, and wherein said slot has a length less than the distance between the leading edge and the trailing edge but not less than the distance between the inner edge of the open cut and the trailing edge, said flattened end being inserted Within the respective slot by engaging the cut with one end of the closed slot and pivoting the stanchion with respect to said rail so that the trailing edge engages the other end of the closed slot and the shoulder of the stanchion is made to abut the surface of said rail.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,869,902 1/1959 Gleitsman 287-54 2,903,104 9/1959 Brown 287189.36 3,004,639 10/1961 Choppa 287189.36 3,114,578 12/1963 Hamilton 211-182 X 3,193,228 7/1965 Chion 28754 X 3,216,538 11/1965 Miller 287189.36 3,336,004 8/1967 Edie et al. 256- DENNIS L. TAYLOR, Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

